Avios
Avios 'are feather-winged Sapiential-Synths''Sapiential-Synth: "A Synth that bares resemblance to a human in that they can talk, think, create, and understand complex things." capable of flight, and although they have bird-like wings and have patterns and designs based on certain birds, they are not related in any-way at all to them. History and Purpose '''Concept and Creation There was no deep thought process into the concepts of Avios beyond "what if people could fly?" and so the concept was simple, a winged humanoid. However, acheiving that vision lead to many routes of testing with a lot of trial and error. Amelia Samodiva and Eve Mira were key supporters of Avio production and proposed organic methods of creating Avios, whilst the at the time head of Delta - Matteo Vaughan- proposed bionics to be the way forward and faster to produce. Enjoying the competition it sparked, Guy Daniels proposed that both parties had two years to produce functioning prototypes that they would then present to a crowd of ARCDA employees and the concept with the most votes would then be funded for further research. Emblazoned by the competition, Samodiva, along with Eve Mira, Daniil Pavlov, and several other lead scientists, all began work on their Avio concepts immediately. Within the first year and a half the team managed to produce the first Type-1 and Type-2 Avio prototypes. Meanwhile, Delta underwent many changes of leadership (through suspected sabotage on the behalf of Samodiva), and production and construction for the bionic wings concept stalled. By the end of their designated time, the Avio concept had come the furthest with the first Type-3 Prototypes ready to be grown, and Daniels, pleased with the potential and branching other concepts that had sprung from the evolution of the Avios doubled the initial funding he had initially intended to reward the winners with. With this money, Avio development sped up and broadened with Pavlov taking some samples to experiment with patterns and colours with, and Eve designated for long term viability and stability of the genetics with permission to go further and create more Synths from the research; With this she went on to produce Chiros, Raptors, Pteros, and assisted with the creation of Preternaturals and late-stage genetic modification to existing products. All of the initial prototypes for avios used were Crows, or Crow-based, as they were one of the easiest bases to access and study, along with feral pigeons, and Harris's Hawks. Production. With the funding and growth of a production team and a broadening bank of genetic codes from which they could pull traits, Eve Mira set up prototype tests at Loch Mullardoch, Scotland, to configure a good standard for Avios. The key base species which ARCDA uses are primarily birds of prey however their list features: * Hawks * Eagles * Vultures * Falcons * Owls * Parrots * Pigeons * Crows * Seabirds All other bases outside of these groups are usually created by commission or with some input by Risio, with hummingbird and songbird bases being a favourite to use. Biology Anatomically, Avio biological features have more resemblance to birds, bats, and other flying creatures more than humans, to the point that often the only human-resembling aspect of Avios that remains is the face and speech. Genetics Internal Biology Bones Avio bones are nothing like human bones. They are similar to birds in that they are supported by thin honeycombed structures within, but are comprised of a far denser but more light weight material, and only make up about 7.5-8% of the overal body weight. The walls of Avio bones are also very thin and some parts are almost translucent when light is shone through them. A primary and neccissary aspect which Avios require within their skeletal systems is the Keel, a large protrusion from what would be the sternum. This is a very thin but strong bone and often acts as a brestplate that protects the heart and lungs behind it, but its key function is for the wing muscles and pectoral muscles to be anchored to it. Although not outwardly visible, Avios often lack a lot of smaller bones such as within the feet and have a slightly adjusted pelvic bone, however they also have more changes to the appearance of their bones such as rib projections which overlap across the bones of the rib cage which strengthens it a lot, far longer scapulae and an adjusted collarbone which connects loosely to the top of the keel. There are also more vertabrae within the neck than humans, about twice times as many, though they are smaller and allow for far more flexibility of the neck. Circulatory System Blood in Avios has a higher affinity for oxygen and binds and diffuses more readily. The heart is altered slightly, whereas humans have 2 tracks, body and lungs with the major artery leaving the heart being the Aorta, avios have four major arteries that come off of the heart. * Carotid - Head and Brain * Brachia-Pectoral - Flight muscles * Systemic - Body * Pulmonary - Lungs Avio hearts pump more blood per beat than mammalian hearts, and have a slightly elevated resting heartrate. Active heart rates of Avios can be anywhere between 200 and 500 bpm depending on base and how hard they are working. Respiratory System Although Avios can fly high and rarely suffer with hypoxia, they still need to control and train themselves to breathe slowly and deeply so that they can get enough oxygen into their bodies. Nervous System Brain Physical Biology Wings and Feathers The wings are the key defining feature that makes an Avio. Usually the minimum wingspan for a Standard Avio would be the height of the Avio x 2.75 with variation depending on the base from which they come from. It is an easy mistake to say that Avios have bird-feathers. They do not. The feathers resemble bird-feathers but a key feature of Avio feathers is that they have iridescence or even UV reactive markings to them (meaning that they are only visible under ultraviolet light alone, or visible to those who can see into the UV spectrum) as well as a slightly tougher and more robust structure than bird feathers. Their feathers are far more robust and lighter than bird feathers, which is what allows them to be grown to well over two-meters long at the primaries for some types of Avios. Feather pattern is often influenced by the Base from which the Synth comes from, however this doesn't mean that they will be perfect representations of the base. Risio bends the basing system that the other factions use and instead create their own patterns and colourations from a traits database, to the point they can mimic the colourations of butterflies, and even create custom original looks, giving Risio-made synths the widest and most vivid and varied patterns within all of ARCDA. The colours of feathers will change and shift over the course of an Avio's life, with a new set of feathers replacing the old every 2-3 years. Often it is little more than sheading old damaged feathers for new ones, however ofen it comes with a change of pattern or even colours, however with a lot of Avios, their adult colours are set by the time they are between 18-22 (depending on the Avio and the type).Stormbite Official Twitte'''r: https://twitter.com/StormbiteBook/status/1134707937858019329?s=20 Hiding wings is often a pointless activity as the majority of wings are too large to be disguised without trapping the wings beneath long coats, in fake bags, or even continuously manipulating the perceptions of people around them to trick their brains into not seeing the wings. Tail Feathers As with birds, depending on the type of Avio and who made them, tail feathers can either be functional for flight and mobility or they can be for show, often with Risio products leaning towards the latter. The majority of Avios have tail feathers, however transhumans lack them despite ARCDA knowing full well that Avios fly better with them '''Senses Reactions Strength Avio Types The creation of Avios has been a process, with many versions, however their ultimate goal was to have a Sapiential-Synth with both wings and arms that could be moved independently of one another, and could maintain flight. SB - Avio Types 1.png|Type-1 Avio: The Ornithad SB - Avio Types 2.png|Type 2 Avio: The Birdish SB - Avio Types 3.png|Type-3: Flyer SB - Avio Types 4.png|Type-4: Standard SB - Avio Types 5.png|Type-5 Avio: Beauty Type-1 Avios: Ornithad Extinct The first Avios ever created were the Ornithads. Although they were the first living Synths to be created on the original synthetic genetic system, they were absolutely hideous abominations with deformed faces and rib cages, fused or multiple sets of limbs, occasionally scales instead of feathers, or feathers that wouldn't stop growing. They were very unstable and often did not survive long with the longest Ornithad living for little over three months whilst they were used as a study point for the next versions: the Type-2's. Type-2 Avios: Birdish Extinct Using the Ornithads as a stepping stone, ARCDA went on to produce the Type-2's just a year later after their initial attempts failed. The birdish look gave the Type-2's their nicknames of Birdish, as they had more bird-like features with feathered bodies, tails, and wings however the wings had the long metacarpals and phalanges of finger-like digits rather than a single fused set of fingers, whilst the forearms were short with elongated fingers with the humerus directly fused with the wing humerus within a single socket. This meant that the wings and arms would move together rather than independently from each other. They could never get the Birdish Avios to live longer than three years, but from these they went on to produce the Raptors and by-proxy the Chiros. Type-3 Avios: Flyers Extinct Flyers were the predecessor to the standard Type-4 Avios seen, and were the model from which the Type-7s were redesigned from. They were only based on 3 bases: Crows, Harris' Hawks, and Rock Doves (Feral Pigeons) as these were the easiest bases to study and sequence genetically for base mimication as they were always present somewhere around the research facilities (with the exception of the hawks which were maintained in aviaries). They appear more humanoid than the Type-2's, with facial features that resemble a human more accurately, though their bodies are mostly covered in feathers, with scales along their legs and arms. They have no hair and their eyes are rounder with no whites. They still retain tail feathers, though they are shorter and not prehensile. The wings of a Flyer have 2 scaled finger digits similar to that of a hoatzin though they are longer and capable of grasping. Crow is one of the few remaining Flyers today, as the rest have been killed. Type-4 Avios: Standard The common bases used for Standard types are usually corvids, birds of prey, seabirds, and occasionally pigeons and other birds with problem solving skills. In addition to wings, Type-4 Avios have tail feathers, though many lack a nictitating membrane (third eyelid) which protects their eyes. The average lifespan for Standards is placed at about fifty years, depending on how they live their lives, though this isn't tested yet as to how long they actually live for. Type-5 Avios: Beauties An offshoot of the Standard types, produced only by Risio, are the Beauties. They are the most diverse Avios within ARCDA. Risio has mastered creating Avios without single bases and have created an entire database of codes, allowing them to mix and match different traits and produce various patterns. However because of Risio's alterations a lot of side effects with skin problems, moulting, arthritis and dislocated limbs, as well lots of random mutations including leucism, wing spurs, dew-claws/wing fingers, seasonal feather changes, non-standard wing shapes, and even unique feather qualities. See Also': Project Mistral '''''Type-6 Avios: Transhumans Transhuman Avio's are a more recent development since growing Avios from embryo's takes a lot more money and time. The process for Transhuman-Avios is quite horrific, and with the amount of bodily changes that occur, with bones being shattered and regrown, and the entire genetic makeup of the human's body being altered, many Tranhumans have no memory of their former lives, and suffer extensive psychological damage as well as require long time physiotherapy to allow them to connect their new wings to their brains and have function over them; a process which can take over a year, and sometimes longer, to complete. Usually people who are selected for this process are people who will not be missed or looked for by the authorities; the homeless, refugees, minorities in certain parts of the world, occasionally entire villages in rural areas with limited outside connections, though like with Preternaturals, there are some who actively sign up for this process. Because so much biological reworking happens within this process, it allows for other additions to be made such as encoding muser abilities. Although Core usually will sterilize all Transhumans, depending on where they were created they will cut this corner as again, it is time consuming and expensive to keep surgically removing organs that may cause internal hemorrhaging or the collapse of other organs), which can lead to pregnancies in female transhumans, however only if their partner is also transhuman; eg: Kathy Grey and Teal Known Transhumans *Amell Rakena *Kathy Grey *Teal ''Type-7 Avios: Aerials Prototypes The Type-7 Avios were a very small group of prototypes produced at Loch Mullardoch. These were some of the most expensive and hardest to produce Avios, as they were recreated from scratch within a whole new genetic architecture and not utilising the 8-base system from which all other Synths are created within. Superficially they appear almost indistinguishable from the Standard Type-4 Avios, however they have a lot more specialism and adjustments such as scaled legs, four long gripping toes, longer tail feathers, more mobility within their range of movements, talons, smaller teeth and larger wingspans to body ratios. The majority of Type-7 Avios came from Loch Mullardoch within the prototype projects run by Eve Mira, which included the Identical Twin studies, and Varriated studies, beyond this, no more Type-7's were produced. '''See More:' Type-7 Avios Known Avio Characters *Storm Fraser-Swann *Wilny Mira *Malana Été *Sabre Merlo *Fell Merlo *Rai Noct *Crow Corvus *Comet Sang Known Transhuman Avios *Amell Rakena *Kathy Grey *Teal Minor Characters * Eddie Gallery Wingspan Lineup.png Tumblr pqo0s4spxl1uz6veko4 1280.png|The Rogues Tumblr pagqszq4wt1uz6veko2 540.png Sirocco - Wide Open Sky.png See More * Synths * ARCDA * Hasekura * Preternaturals * Canids Trivia * Feathers are an emotional extension of the Avio's body and telegraph a lot depending on the emotional state of their owner. * Avios (except transhuman ones) can't taste spicy foods. *Although Avios resemble humans in the face, this is the only aspect of humans they share. *Avios are a lot lighter in weight than they look, with the heaviest Avios weighing up to 45-60kg, though the average weight is about 25-40kg References Site Navigation Synth Lore Category:Lore Category:Avios Category:Synth Lore